May 31, Trinity Sunday: John 3:1-17

There is a lot of talking going on in John 3:1–17. It’s a theological gold mine. In this encounter with Nicodemus, Jesus speaks of being born again. He speaks of the necessity of being baptized in both water and the Holy Spirit. He hints at his identity as the one who descended from heaven, and the one who must be lifted up so that those who believe can be saved. Then Jesus closes with two of the most well-known verses in all of Christian scripture: “For God so loved the world . . .” One could preach a lifetime’s worth of sermons without ever leaving John 3. And all of it is ours, thanks to this record of a nighttime encounter with Jesus.

It is a fateful meeting. I wonder if Nicodemus knows what he is getting into. He is a Pharisee and a leader of the Jews. John’s Gospel sets up the Pharisees as Jesus’ opponents, even his enemies. Yet Nicodemus seeks him out. What draws him to Jesus? What motivates any of us to come to Jesus?

During my junior year of high school, gospel musicians Andraé Crouch and the Disciples came to town. They were scheduled to perform one evening at a nearby Mennonite campground. By that time my family was pretty well falling apart. My parents’ marriage was collapsing under the weight of years of disappointment and regret. My siblings and I were caught up in our own efforts to survive that collapse, doing our best to maintain some semblance of normalcy. It was a hard time.